I CHING

Heaven, Mountain, and Lake trigrams. 1999. Photo by Damian Andrus.

In the Chinese philosophy of Taoism, both Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu refer to the flow of water as a primary metaphor. Alan Watts named his book on Taoism, The Watercourse Way, because this philosophy explores “the flow, the drift, the course, or the process of nature.” In the Tao Te Ching, written in the sixth century BCE, Lao Tzu wrote, “The highest good is like water. For the good of water is that it nourishes everything without striving.” And Chuang Tzu wrote, “The fluidity of water is not the result of any effort on the part of the water, but is its natural property.”

Untitled. Salt, silver leaf. 1999.

Untitled. Salt, silver leaf. 1999.

Untitled. Salt, copper leaf. 1999.